HOME › FORMULAS › INGREDIENTS › EPA + DHA

BIOACTIVE
ω-3
re-esterified TG or phospholipid
IN 6 OF THE 29 FORMULAS ONE AUTHORISED CLAIM

EPA + DHA (Marine Omega-3)

Six of our twenty-nine formulas carry it, at doses between 1000 and 2000 mg. It holds one authorised EU claim, and that claim is about the heart. Our record lists that heart claim as the principal claim of all six, including four formulas aimed at something other than the heart, and this page is mostly about being clear on that gap.

PREFERRED FORM Re-esterified TG or phospholipid (krill)
MINIMUM EFFECTIVE DOSE 1000 mg per day, over 12 – 24 weeks
OUR RANGE 1000 – 2000 mg per formula
EFSA UPPER LIMIT 5000 mg per day, EPA and DHA together5000 mg per day
APPEARS IN 6 formulas
AUTHORISED CLAIMS 1 under Reg. 432/2012

WHAT WE ARE ALLOWED TO SAY

One claim. It is about the heart.

Our register holds two authorised records for this claim, with the same meaning; this is the wording of the one our formulas point to, translated literally from Spanish because our record has no English text. The condition comes in two parts: the product must at least qualify as a source of omega-3 fatty acids under Regulation (EC) 1924/2006, and you must be told that the effect comes from a daily intake of 250 mg of EPA and DHA. Our lowest dose is 1000 mg, four times that intake, and we still do not stretch the wording beyond what it says.Two authorised records in our register hold this heart claim. It needs the product to qualify as a source of omega-3 (Reg. 1924/2006) and you to be told the effect comes from 250 mg a day; our lowest dose is 1000 mg.

EPA and DHA contribute to the normal function of the heart (with a daily intake of 250 mg)
AND WHAT WE ARE NOT

Our record lists this heart claim as the principal claim of all six formulas that carry it, including the four aimed at inflammation, recovery, thyroid or muscle damage. What it does not hold is an authorised claim for any of those aims, so the heart is all the claim covers, in every one of them. What we have instead is a mechanism on file: EPA is a substrate for the E-series resolvins and the series-3 prostaglandins, which are less pro-inflammatory than the series-2 route from omega-6. That is a reason to include it, not a permission to promise anything.

WHY THE TRIGLYCERIDE FORM

Same two fatty acids. Not the same amount arriving.

EPA and DHA are the same molecules whichever oil carries them, so the form is not a claim argument and we do not use it as one. What changes is absorption: our record puts the re-esterified triglyceride and the phospholipid forms at about 90% oral bioavailability and the ethyl ester at 60 – 70%. Our EU regulatory record specifies re-esterified triglyceride or phospholipid (krill), preferred over ethyl ester. Our formula records do not yet say which of the two goes into each formula: only one, Oxidative cardiovascular, carries an explicit flag, for the re-esterified triglyceride.

ETHYL ESTERThe one our record ranks below

60 – 70% oral bioavailability in our record; our regulatory record specifies TG or phospholipid instead.

PHOSPHOLIPID (KRILL)One of the two our record specifies

Around 90%, the same as the triglyceride, and named alongside it as a preferred form in our regulatory record.

RE-ESTERIFIED TRIGLYCERIDEThe other one it specifies

Around 90% oral bioavailability. Oxidative cardiovascular is the only formula flagged for it explicitly; the other five do not specify a form yet. Our record gives the preferred forms a cost factor of 3 and a concentrated version that cuts the volume by a factor of 2.5.

THE HONEST VERSION

Our record also marks this oil as not stable in liquid and sensitive to light, oxygen and heat. That is a formulation problem we have to engineer around, not a feature. And there is no authorised claim saying the triglyceride form does anything the ethyl ester cannot: it is an absorption and stability decision, nothing more.Our record marks this oil as not stable in liquid and sensitive to light, oxygen and heat. The form is an absorption and stability decision, not a claim.

WHERE IT APPEARS

Six of the twenty-nine carry EPA and DHA.

The limit is a daily total, so what matters is which of these land on the same day, not what each one holds on its own. Five of the six are served in the evening; the thyroid formula is the only morning one.

FORMULATYPEDOSEWINDOWWHY IT IS IN THERE
Cardiovascular CORE 1500 mg
1500 mg Night Night · The authorised heart claim, at six times the 250 mg the claim asks for. Our record flags this dose as therapeutically increased
Anti-inflammatory & recovery BOOST 2000 mg
2000 mg Night Night · Top of our range. Its principal claim on file is the heart claim; nothing authorised covers inflammation or recovery. Contraindicated if you take anticoagulants
Autoimmune thyroid ADAPT 1000 mg
1000 mg Morning Morning · Our lowest dose of it and the only one served in the morning. The formula is still a draft
Oxidative cardiovascular ADAPT 1500 mg
1500 mg Night Night · Same dose as the CORE version. Flagged in our record to be made with the re-esterified triglyceride form. The formula is being reformulated
Systemic inflammation ADAPT 2000 mg
2000 mg Night Night · Top of our range again. Its principal claim on file is the heart claim; none covers inflammation. Contraindicated if you take anticoagulants
Muscle damage (CK) ADAPT 2000 mg
2000 mg Night Night · Recorded with the heart claim and explicitly without a muscle-recovery claim. Contraindicated if you take anticoagulants. The formula is still a draft

THE CEILING

5000 mg a day, EPA and DHA together.

The EFSA upper limit applies to your total intake of the two fatty acids, not to each formula on its own. Two of our 2000 mg formulas leave you at 4000 mg, which is under it. A third at that dose is 6000 mg, which is not. It is the kind of arithmetic a shelf of separate bottles cannot do for you.The EFSA limit applies to your total, not to each formula. Two of our 2000 mg formulas leave you at 4000 mg. A third is 6000 mg, over the limit.

2000 mg · Systemic inflammation2000 mg 2000 mg · Anti-inflammatory & recovery2000 mg a third at this dose would break the ceilingover the ceiling
0 mg 5000 mg · EFSA upper limit for EPA and DHA5000 mg · EFSA limit
WHAT THE NUMBERS ALLOWTwo of the big ones

2000 mg plus 2000 mg is 4000 mg, under the limit. A third at that dose crosses it, so three of our high-dose formulas cannot share a day.

WHAT WE DO NOT HAVE YETA rule written for this one

Some ingredients have explicit scheduling rules in our engine. EPA and DHA does not have one on file yet. The ceiling still applies to your total; the rule that enforces it automatically is not written down, and we would rather say so.

IF YOU ALREADY TAKE FISH OILCount it in

The limit is your total intake, not the part we send you. Anything you take on your own counts against the same 5000 mg, so tell the app about it.

WHAT IT REACTS WITH

No documented pairs. One contraindication.

EPA and DHA is one of the 140 ingredients in our library, so it has 139 possible partners. Not one of them is among the 443 pairs we have documented so far. What follows is not a pair list, because there is none. It is what our formula records and the label say.

NOTHING ON FILENo pair documented

Neither an ingredient pair nor a drug pair has been recorded for EPA and DHA in our tables. That is an empty row, not a clean bill of health.

CONTRAINDICATEDAnticoagulants

Our three 2000 mg formulas, Anti-inflammatory & recovery, Systemic inflammation and Muscle damage (CK), are contraindicated if you take anticoagulants, because high-dose omega-3 raises bleeding risk, and they are not assigned to you. Every formula that carries EPA and DHA also excludes anyone on vitamin K antagonists such as warfarin.

CONTAINS FISHA declared allergen

Declared under Reg. (EU) 1169/2011, Annex II. It is not vegan and not vegetarian. Our record notes that an algal DHA alternative exists; we are not using one today.

TALK TO A DOCTOR FIRSTAnticoagulants, bleeding disorders, surgery

Our label warnings are explicit: anyone taking anticoagulants or living with a bleeding disorder should speak to a healthcare professional first, and it should be stopped one to two weeks before elective surgery.

ALSO ON THE LABELThe standard three

Do not exceed the recommended daily dose. Food supplements should not be used as a substitute for a varied and balanced diet. Keep out of the reach of young children.

WHAT WE HAVE NOT CHECKED YET

443 of the 9,730 possible pairs in our library are documented, which is 4.55%, and none of them involves this ingredient. Its pharmacokinetics record is thin too: we have onset at 2 – 4 weeks, faecal elimination and 90% oral bioavailability, but no half-life and no confirmed cytochrome interactions. The rest is not "safe", it is simply unchecked.443 of the 9,730 possible pairs in our library are documented, which is 4.55%, and none of them involves this ingredient. The rest is not safe, it is simply unchecked.

SOURCES

Everything on this page, with its reference.

REGULATION Regulation (EU) 432/2012 — the authorised health claim for EPA and DHA claim wording and conditions of use
REGULATION Regulation (EC) 1924/2006, Annex — source of omega-3 fatty acids condition attached to the claim
EFSA EFSA opinions behind the claim — EFSA Journal 2010;8(10):1796 and 2011;9(4):2078 basis of the heart claim
REGULATION Regulation (EU) 1169/2011, Annex II — declared allergens contains fish
EFSA EFSA — tolerable upper intake level for EPA and DHA 5000 mg per day, combined
OUR RECORD VION EU regulatory record for EPA + DHA required form: re-esterified triglyceride or phospholipid
STUDY Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2018 — PMID 30019766 evidence base, graded 2b in our library

Reviewed by VION nutrition team · last reviewed 16 September 2026

140 INGREDIENTS · 64 IN USE TODAY

Every one of them has a page like this.

What it is, what we are allowed to say about it, which formulas carry it, what it reacts with and where each of those statements comes from. No proprietary blends, no hidden amounts.